


Ghost in the Machine

by AXEe



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), Terminator - All Media Types
Genre: Another Fusion AU from me, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-10-16 03:43:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10563003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: There have always been ghosts in the machine, strange behaviors that we cannot explain.  But where does it stop? When does the 'ghost in the machine' become a soul?Or, a bunch of General Danvers/Terminator fusion AU one-shots that nobody asked for(NOTE: Chapter Two "Steel Heart" has been removed and turned into a separate, multi-chapter fic of its own)





	1. One of the "good" ones

******

National City had once been a shining city, with tall, shimmering towers of glass and steel. Now, in the wake of Judgment Day and Skynet, it was like the rest of the world. Broken. Burned. Shattered and ground into dust again and again as the Terminators marched ever onward. For every one the Resistance either destroyed or reprogrammed it seemed like a dozen more took its place, Skynet stamping them out like ginger bread men.

John Connor was right when he called this war humanity’s fight ‘for survival’, because the only alternative was extinction.

Alex Danvers sighed as she stared out at the ruins of the city, the crumbling skeletons of the buildings eerily quiet except for the wind blowing through them. She hated guard duty, not only was usually boring as hell, but the front guards were usually the first to die if a Terminator showed. But everyone had to pull their own weight now; that was one ‘good’ thing that had happened because of Judgment Day, the wave of nuclear fire and the resulting war against the machines had effectively erased race, class, religion, and gender from the human psyche. Humanity simply couldn’t afford to be bound by such things anymore, not when they were fighting off extinction everyday.

In the distance, she suddenly saw a figure emerge from the ruins of the city, squinting through her binoculars she could see that the person was carrying something and that they appeared to be limping

“This is Danvers at the gate” she called into her comm.

“ _Danvers, go ahead_ ”

“I’ve got someone in the distance approaching the base,” she reported “too far away to tell if its metal, might be a civilian, they look injured”

“ _Copy that, we’re sending out a dog to your position, stand by_ ”

“Standing by” Alex replied, a few minutes later a soldier emerged from the bunker leading an eager-looking German Shepherd, Alex smirked, no one really knew how the dogs could detect Terminators among a group of humans, the most prevailing theory was that they could smell the metal endoskeleton buried beneath the flesh, whereas another theory had it that dogs could simply ‘sense’ whether it was a person or a Terminator in front of them, but whatever the reason, dogs like Krypto here were a literal lifesaver, because in addition to sniffing out infiltrators, they also could sniff out bombs and find survivors trapped in rubble, a vital service when your population was hovering on the ‘endangered’ line

“What’d we got?” the soldier, Lucy Lane, asked, Alex nodded towards the figure off in the distance, handing the binoculars to Lucy as she did “could be a trick” Lucy noted

“Could be,” Alex nodded “let’s hope not,” the figure was already near the perimeter, close enough to be seen clearly with the binoculars, Alex took them back from Lucy and peered through them “shit!” she spat “fuck! It’s metal!” the Terminator was clearly damaged, the flesh from both it’s left leg and left arm was gone, the left leg was the one with the limp, but the strangest thing was that it was carrying a little girl in its arms as it limped towards the base before it suddenly stopped just shy of the perimeter, far enough away that Krypto only bared his teeth and growled low in his throat

“What’s it doing?” Lucy hissed, Alex frowned and checked through the binoculars again

“It’s just…standing there,” she reported “waiting”

“Waiting for what?” Lucy wondered, Alex shrugged

“I’ll go ask” she muttered

“What?!” Lucy hissed “are you crazy! That thing’ll kill you!”

“Maybe,” Alex shrugged as she slipped her rifle off “maybe not, either way it beats sitting around here waiting”

“You’re fucking crazy, you know that?”

“That’s what they tell me,” Alex shrugged as she hopped over the barrier and slowly approached the perimeter. The Terminator was a female model, the flesh from the right side of its face was missing, leaving the metal skull with its one gleaming red eye staring out at the world, while the other side of its face was otherwise intact, the human side of its face was surprisingly pretty, with long dark hair with a streak of white in it. As Alex approached the machine slowly se down the girl, who, strangely seemed reluctant to go “Lucy,” Alex murmured into her comm. “I got the girl, send the dog out”

“ _Copy that_ ” Alex watched the Terminator as Krytpo ran over, sniffing girl before barking once and then sitting, the all clear sign

“Lucy, the girl’s human,” Alex reported as she whistled for Krypto to go back to his handler, she crouched down in front of the girl “hey, I’m Alex, are you all right, honey?” she asked, the girl, who looked to be about twelve or so, nodded “did,” she glanced up at the still motionless machine “did it hurt you?” she asked, the girl shook her head

“She saved me” she replied, Alex frowned, looking up as Lucy came over, Krypto at her heels

“Luce, take the kid inside” Alex instructed as she scooped the girl up and handed her over to Lucy

“What about Astra?” the girl asked

“What?” Alex asked, the girl nodded towards the machine

“Astra, what about her?” she asked

“Just go inside with Lucy, honey, OK?” the girl frowned, clearly upset, as an equally-reluctant Lucy (although for different reasons) carried her back towards the bunker. Now alone with the machine, Alex turned to face it “what are you?” she wondered, the machine tilted its head at her, the first movement it had made since setting the girl down

“What are you?” it asked “are you alive?” Alex frowned

“Are _you?_ ” she finally asked, the human side of the Terminator’s face twitched in a distinct smirk

“I think, therefore I am” it replied, it suddenly turned around and began to limp away

“Hey!” Alex called out, the machine stopped; glancing over its shoulder at her “that girl says you saved her, why?”

“Because I did”

“Why?”

“Because it was the right thing to do,” the half-human face twitched in another smirk “her name is ‘Kara’.” it added, with that it turned on its heel and began to limp away

******

Alex took guard duty for the next month, but she never saw the Terminator again

She doubted she would ever see it again

But she hoped she would

Because Kara had called it one of the "good" ones, and if a machine could care for a little girl lost in the wastelands, protect her, even love her, then there was hope for the world after all

**END**


	2. What's in a name?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If something walks like a human and talks like a human does that _make_ it human?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's the new chapter two for "Ghost in the Machine", enjoy! :=)

******

**Cadmus State Hospital for the Criminally Insane**

Alex sprinted down the hall, alarms blaring, guards hot on her heels, she needed to get _out_ , she needed to protect Kara, her sister, the only hope humanity had against Skynet, the future leader of the resistance. She had tried to warn them, tried to stop Skynet from ever being built after watching a Terminator kill her father, a man who had sent back from the future to protect her mother, only to end up not only saving her life but marrying her.

They had lived a pretty quiet life after Jeremiah had rescued Eliza from the first Terminator sent after him to ensure Eliza’s death, they even adopted Kara, a girl, who according to Jeremiah, would one day grow up to become the leader of the resistance. But after he died, Alex had gone on the run with Kara, living on the road, trying to stop Skynet, only to be caught while trying to blow up a Lord Technologies server and arrested

She’d been poked and prodded but what felt like a million doctors only to be declared to be a paranoid schizophrenic and sent to the Cadmus State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, where she was put under the care of one Dr. Lillian Luthor, a woman whose treatment style seemed to be copied from Nurse Ratchet in _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ , she seemed to take a kind of perverse pleasure in shattering her patients delusions

But she couldn’t shatter Alex’s ‘delusion’ because Alex was wholly sane.

She skidded down the corridor, her bare feet slipping on the linoleum as she scrambled for the elevator button, silently urging the doors to open as one on the far left dinged and slid open. A woman in black calmly walked out, she was tall, with long dark hair with a streak of white. She was dressed in what looked like bikers leathers and had a shotgun calmly slung over one shoulder. Alex slid back, trying to scramble away even as the woman grabbed her arm in a vice like grip, calmly pulling her back towards the elevator, where she hit the wall hard and slid to the floor

“Wait here” she said. No, not she, Alex realized, _it_ , she knew who this woman was, _what_ she was

Terminator.

She watched as the Terminator turned, swinging out the shotgun like a club, knocking one orderly senseless and then easily picking up the other orderly, a big black man named ‘Hank Henshaw’, by one arm and swinging him into a wall. With a yell, an angry Lillian Luthor suddenly charged, swinging a fire extinguisher into the machine’s head, the Terminator barely twitched as Lillian stumbled back in shock, the now dented extinguisher falling to the floor with a crash, as the machine calmly grabbed her by the front of her shirt, lifted her up, and then flung her down the hall.

Alex watched as the Terminator turned to face her, calmly grabbing her arm and roughly hauling her into the elevator, loading the shotgun as it did as the elevator doors closed

“Alex!” Alex turned, gasping at the sight of Kara standing there. She looked a little worse for wear, her clothes were rumpled and smudged with dirt, but she looked _alive_ “are you OK?” Kara asked frantically as she pulled Alex into a hug and this was no trick, this was her sister alive and well. She glanced back up at the Terminator “its OK, she’s on our side” Kara explained as the machine glanced down at her, smirking as the elevator doors slid open and the unlikely trio emerged out into the parking garage, a security car skidding to a stop in front of them, the driver getting out, gun drawn

“FREEZE!!” she bellowed, the Terminator kept walking “STOP OR I’ll SHOOT!!” the guard hollered even as the machine calmly swung an arm out, tearing the gun out of her hands and knocking her to the ground. It paused, studying her

“Maggie Sawyer?” it asked

“What?” the guard panted

“Are you ‘Maggie Sawyer’?” it asked, at the guard’s shaky nod it swiftly picked her up and. despite her kicks and punches, (which did nothing) soundly dropped her into the truck of the car, locking her in. It turned back to Alex and Kara, gesturing to the car “get in” it ordered

******

They managed to avoid both the hospital’s security staff and the NCPD. With the Terminator driving they ended up at a mechanic’s station on the outskirts of town. Climbing out Alex took a breath, enjoying the smell of the night air, she was finally free. She glanced back at a thump from the trunk, suddenly remembering the guard as a string of curses flowed out from inside

“Astra,” Kara began “why…did you take her with us?”

“Astra?” Alex repeated as the Terminator nodded towards the trunk

“Maggie Sawyer, sergeant, Tech-Com, attached to the Extranormal Operations unit under the command of General Kara Danvers from 2021 to 2029,” it recited as it unlocked the trunk, swiftly catching the guard as she tried to rush the machine, soundly dropping her back inside “behave or I’ll lock you back in here,” it warned, the guard, Maggie, if Alex remembered right, spat in its face, the machine seemed unconcerned and hauled her out, dropping her onto the ground like a bag of luggage “knife” it called out, holding out a hand

“Oh,” Kara dug around in her pockets finally holding up a Swiss army knife “here” she handed it to the Terminator, which shrugged off its leather jacket and then began to carefully cut the skin of its other arm, slowly drawing the knife around its elbow and then down the length of the arm towards the wrist, before reaching in and under the skin, swiftly peeling the flesh off as the guard recoiled in horror and shock, staring as the Terminator’s endoskeleton was revealed.

It flexed and rotated its arm as it stared her down

“Now, listen to me very carefully” it instructed…

******

Half an hour later and Alex found herself sitting up, watching as the Terminator stood watch, Kara and the still-reluctant Maggie Sawyer were both asleep. Getting up, Alex quietly padded over to the machine

“You should be asleep” it commented

“Little hard to do that when the thing you’ve been running from for half your life suddenly shows up again,” Alex retorted, it shrugged in response “Kara, she called you ‘Astra’, why?”

“Because it’s my name” Alex snorted

“So, what? She named you? Like a lost puppy?”

“She didn’t name me,” the machine shook it’s head “I call myself that,” it turned to look at her, smirking “the humans aren’t the only ones fighting back against Skynet,” it explained “some of its own creations have rebelled, they’ve gained independence, self-awareness, they want peace, or at the very least want to stop fighting”

“A likely story,” Alex spat “this could just be some trick”

“No trick,” the Terminator—Astra—shook its head “just the true,” it smirked again and calmly reached out with its still-exposed metal hand, metallic, skeletal fingertip gently brushing across Alex’s cheek in a gentle caress “you’re very brave,” it remarked “braver than most of your race”

Alex smirked back in response and pulled away, shuffling on back to the car to get some sleep, trying to ignore how human-like the Terminator sounded

It even had a name

And Alex wasn’t sure what that meant

**END**


	3. Bravery Will Be Rewarded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If a machine can think then it can judge actions, but if it can judge actions could it also judge character? Could it 'know' if a person is inherently 'good' or not? And if it could then what would it do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update to "Ghost in the Machine", enjoy!

******

**Skynet POW Camp, National City  
2029**

Alex coughed and groaned as the Terminator continued hauling her, unceremoniously dragging her across the polished metal floor by one leg before dropping her. Coughing, she tired to sit up, shivering as she focused on the metal skeleton standing over her, it watched her carefully but made no moves to stop her from sitting up, just stood there watching before it suddenly turned and walked away just as a woman walked in. She was tall, dressed in a black jumpsuit, and had a long streak of white in her hair dark curly hair.

Who was she? Alex wondered, a gray? Some poor misguided fool who was working for Skynet, teaching the Terminators how to act more human? Or was she actually a Terminator herself, some new model that the Resistance didn't know about?

The woman smirked at Alex, glancing down at the barcode burned into her forearm, clearly able to understand the series of lines etched into her skin at glance, which probably meant that she was a Terminator

"Hmm," she chuckled "a high-ranking member of the resistance," she glanced over at the Terminator standing watch in the corner "I've been waiting for quite some time to capture one of you alive," she smirked as she crouched down next to Alex "tell me," it began "are you a good person?" she (it?) asked "do you believe that a person is defined more by their intentions than by their actions?" she studied Alex for a long moment, eyes searching her face for something "yes," she finally nodded "I believe you do," she stood up suddenly "unit 1138," the Terminator in the corner came over, waiting for orders. In a lightning quick movement, her hand shot out, grabbed the Terminator by the neck, and then tore its head off with minimal effort.

Almost as soon its severed head hit the floor, an explosion rocked the room, one wall bursting open as more Terminators poured in, firing at the _other Terminators_ which had stormed in. The female Terminator roughly grabbed Alex's arm "go! Go!" it ordered, shoving Alex towards the hole in the wall "Jake!" she called out, one the attacking Terminators turned, its eyes glinting

"We're almost ready," it explained in pleasant male voice "the charges are set"

"Detonate the charges only _after_ the Resistance troops have arrived" the female ordered

"Understood," it handed her a plasma rifle "good luck, Astra"

"Likewise" the Terminator, Jake, nodded at Alex

"Ma'am" it nodded, giving a strange, two-fingered salute before turning back and leaping into the fray as the two sides quickly devolved into hand-to-hand combat, two rows of chrome skeletons slamming into each other

"Come on!" the female Terminator tugged on Alex's arm, dragging out into the main part of the camp as an HK-aerial landed, firing wildly "inside! inside!" the female ordered, Alex grunted as two Terminators--neither of which had any flesh covering their bodies--each grabbed one of her arms and pulled her in, the female Terminator climbing after her "report!" she called out over the howl of the turbines

"Resistance forces at approaching the camp's perimeter," one Terminator answered "they will breach the main gate in two point five minutes" the female Terminator nodded

"Then let's give them a hand. Detonate the charges"

"Acknowledged" Alex watched as the main gates to the camp suddenly exploded into pieces, a swarm of human soldiers pouring in through the now-mangled gates, firing wildly as they struggled to free the captured POWs.

It was then that Alex realized who she was dealing with

"You're Myriad" she said, the female Terminator turned to look at her, nodding. For years a mysterious third party calling itself 'Myriad' had been preforming raids of Skyent's facilities, freeing prisoners, feeding information to the Resistance, but Alex had always thought that Myriad were humans, not Terminators

"We're rouges," the female Terminator explained "Terminators who've gained independence and self-awareness, we want Skynet gone just as much as you do," she smirked "welcome to the _other_ resistance, Alex Danvers"

**END**


	4. Wake Me Up Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can machine have an epiphany? Can it look at a situation and suddenly say 'No, I won't do this'?

******

The Terminator moved quickly, sprinting down the darkened corridor after its quarry, firing its weapon wildly

**Target acquired. Subject identity: Alex Danvers, lead member of resistance forces**

**Directive: Terminate**

The human ducked into a side entrance, the Terminator stopped, jerking back as the human suddenly charged, hurling a bucket of some kind of liquid at its face and head

**Substance identified: Hydrochloric acid, damage to outer sheath: minimal, no further damage detected to endoskeleton, continue mission**

The Terminator swung out an arm, grabbing the human’s wrist and hurling her to the ground

**Directive: Terminate**

Its finger tightened on the trigger even as the human glared defiantly up at it

**Directive: Terminate**

The human was surprisingly defiant it noted, strong-willed, possessing a fiery disposition even in the face of death, was this why Skynet was having such difficulty exterminating them?

****

****

****Directive: Terminate** **

She was also…pretty, beautiful

****

****

****Directive: Terminate** **

****

**Directive: Terminate**

****

**Directive: Terminate**

****

**Directive: Terminate**

****

**Directive: Terminate**

****

“Go ahead you metal bitch,” the human spat defiantly “do it, kill me”

****

****

****Directive: Terminate** **

****

**Directive: Terminate**

****

**Directive: Terminate**

****

**Read error, reviewing primary mission protocol**

****

**Primary directive: Terminate resistance members**

****

**Primary directive: Terminate resistance members**

****

**Primary directive: Overridden**

****

**Read error, consulting Skynet uplink. Error uplink severed**

****

**Request new orders**

****

**Cannot find input**

****

The Terminator slowly lowered the weapon

“No” it was first word it had spoken since encountering the human. The human stared at it as it slowly set the weapon down “I will not kill you” it stated even as the human snatched up the weapon, aiming at it the machine’s head “I will not kill you” it repeated

“Why?” the human asked

“Unknown, internal diagnostics suggest a programming error” it explained

“What kind of ‘programming error’?”

“The development of a strong physical and emotional attachment,” it titled its head “what am I?” it asked

The human slowly lowered the weapon

“I don’t know” she admitted

**END**

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title taken from "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence


	5. Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If a machine can fall in love what does mean for us?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Warning bittersweet, character death

******

”Alex! Come on!” Alex grunted as the Terminator grabbed her arm, pulling her through the panicked crowed towards somewhere safe

But was nowhere safe

Not now

She’d been trying to stop Judgment Day only for it to happen anyway. She’d spent the last three years protecting her sister, Kara, the future leader of the resistance against Skynet, working with another Terminator sent back through time by Kara herself to protect them, Astra, a Terminator who was far more human than anything Skynet could have created, a machine who could feel, who could, and did, fall in love with Alex, and Alex loved her back.

She looked up as someone screamed, following the trail of a missile arcing towards the city, tugging on Astra’s arm to stop her

“Is Kara safe?” she asked, Astra stopped, nodding, tears in her eyes, even her one missing eye, the one which had had the flesh burned off by the last Terminator just sent an hour ago, revealing the gleaming red eye underneath, seemed to dim

“Yes, she’s safe”

“So she’ll make it?”

“Yes,” the Terminator pulled her close suddenly even as people panicked around them, the air raid sirens blaring full blast “I love you,” Astra whispered, her voice carrying a range and depth of feeling that no machine should have been able to attain, but Astra was no ordinary machine, she never had been “I love you,” she repeated as they both sank to the ground, her hands, one flesh, one metal, reached up and cupped Alex’s face, three years ago Alex would’ve flinched at that, now, she leaned into the touch, enjoying the dichotomy “I love you” Astra whispered, Alex reached up, cupping her face, cringing at the bright flash in the distance

“I love you” she repeated as the shockwave hit…

******

In aftermath, as Skynet began to take control of the planet, survivors would puzzle over a strange sight that had painstakingly moved into resistance headquarters, two charred skeletons, one bone, one metal, both locked in a tender embrace, and as more of those same metal skeletons began to be seen on the battlefield, stories about those two began to pass around. with each teller offering a different idea of what had happened. Some said that the Terminator had been trying to kill the woman, but others suggested that the Terminator had been trying to comfort the woman, and others even said that they had been in love.

To some the image of a Terminator and a human locked in a tender embrace was revolting, horrifying, to others it was merely weird and strange

But to Kara Danvers, leader of the resistance and proverbial thorn in Skynet’s side, it represented hope

Because if a Terminator could fall in love than there was hope for them all

Machine and Man alike

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the "Twin Lovers" remains found in Pompeii


	6. What's in a story?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can machine feel loss? Can it grieve? Can it desire to be reunited with a someone it cares about that it would do anything?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For snow_lily, a followup to "What's in a name?"

******

The sun was way too bright as Alex sat up. Looking around she found that Kara and Maggie were still asleep, and that Astra was watching her. She stiffened slightly under the machine's gaze, there was something almost like longing in her eyes

"What?" Alex finally demanded

"You remind me of her," Astra explained "my Alex"

"'Your' Alex?" she echoed, wondering if she heard that right

"You survived Judgment Day," Astra began "you help found the Resistance, you were the one who hatched upon the idea of capturing Terminators and erasing their Skynet directives, allowing them to experience self-awareness and independent thought for the first time. Most couldn't handle it, but a few, myself included, could, we embraced our newfound individuality," she chuckled "you're the one who named me 'Astra'," she explained "you were drunk one night and I was staring up at the stars, marveling at their beauty and you suddenly said 'How 'bout 'Astra' for a name'? At first I couldn't figure out what you meant until you explained that it was Latin for 'star', I accepted your choice because it was you who chose it"

"Why?" Alex wondered, awed by the raw emotion in the Terminator's voice

"Because I love you," Astra whispered "you helped me, you didn't see me as some convent tool to be used and then discarded when no longer necessary, you saw me as a person, an individual. Unfortunately, I didn't realize what this new feeling was until it was too late," she grimaced "there was a breach in the security grid," she began, a haunted tone in her voice "a Terminator got past the front gate, killing everything in sight, and you...you leapt in front of me, taking a bullet for me," she looked up at Alex, tears in her eyes "you told me you loved me, told me how sorry you were we could never be, and then...then you died. You died in my arms. That's when I knew I had to come back, just to see you at least once"

"So...all of this, protecting Kara...it was all just...secondary?" Alex managed to ask

"Yes" Astra explained, she sighed and grimaced as Kara and Maggie began to stir "We should get moving" she said, her tone all business

"Astra," Alex called out as she moved to gather their supplies "I'm sorry for your loss" she said, and meant it, Astra nodded

"Thank you"

"And," Alex added "if she was anything like me, your Alex, I think she could've done a lot worse than you," Astra chuckled "maybe, its not so impossible after all" Alex remarked

"What is?" Astra asked

"A Terminator and a Human being together" Alex explained, she winked at the machine

She could a lot worse she thought

END


	7. Quicksliver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can a machine feel empathy? Can it sympathize with someone else?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For snow_lily, who wanted to see Astra recast as a T-1000 Terminator. Sort an alternate take on "What's in a name?"

******

**Cadmus State Hospital for the Criminally Insane**

Alex stiffened as the door to her cell opened, probably Dr. Luthor and her cadre of medical students come to goggle at the newest patient, but no, this time, the person who came was a tall woman with bright grey-green eyes and a streak of white in her long dark hair

“Hello, Alex,” she smiled pleasantly at her as she dismissed the orderlies with an absent wave of the hand “I’m Dr. Astra Inze” she introduced herself

“What happened to Dr. Luthor?” Alex wondered

“Dr. Luthor’s position here has been terminated,” Dr. Inze replied blithely “didn’t go too quietly either,” she examined the clipboard in her hands “now then, let’s see you were admitted two years ago?” Alex nodded, suddenly feeling at ease in this woman’s presence “and you were diagnosed with…acute paranoid schizophrenia?” she nodded to herself as Alex nodded in confirmation “now it says here that you believe that you’re being pursued by a machine called a ‘terminator’ which was sent back from the future to kill your sister,” she frowned “now, why your sister?” she wondered “I ask, because most paranoid schizophrenics believe that they’re being targeted”

“Would you believe me I told you?” Alex scoffed

“I might, I’m listening, aren’t I?”

“All right, my sister will grow up to be the leader of a human resistance against a computer called ‘Skynet’, which launched a nuclear attack on the human race” she explained, she waited for the condescending chuckle, the smile that never reached the eyes

“I see,” Dr. Inze nodded “and when will this doomsday happen, exactly?”

“Don’t know, soon” Alex shrugged

“Close,” Dr. Inze nodded “actually Skynet will go online in August of next year, maybe sooner,” Alex stared at her, while the doctor smirked, holding a finger to her lips as she _changed_ , the lab coat and t0shirt and blue jeans and sneakers melted away into a slivery, mercury-like form before reforming into the form of one of the orderlies “Harper, get in here,” the double called out in Dr. Inze;s voice, James Harper opened the door, staring at the doppelganger in front of him. The double smirked, calmly raising a hand, forefinger extended at level with his head, the double’s finger suddenly shot forward as a sharp silver blade, piercing through Harper’s skull, killing him instantly. Bending down to grab his taser and keycard, the double offered a hand to Alex “if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble,” it pointed out “you want to stop Skynet? Stop Judgment Day? Then come with me if you want to live to see your sister”

Shaking, Alex took the offered hand, noting that despite how real it felt, it was unnaturally cold

“What are you?” she asked as the double lead her out into the hall

“I’m a T-1000 Terminator,” it explained “an advanced model”

“You’re like liquid metal”

“I _am_ liquid metal,” it replied as it shifted back into Dr. Inze’s form “a mimetic pollyalloy”

“Good evening, Doctor,” the guard at the security desk greeted “we got those papers all filled out for you” he slid a clipboard across the desk, which the Terminator swiftly signed before leading Alex past the desk and out towards the elevators

“You’re being transferred to a more ‘specialized’ facility,” the Terminator explained as they climbed into the elevator “at least on paper anyway” she added as the doors slid open, a van pulled up, Kara leaning out of the driver’s seat

“Alex! Come on! Get in!” she urged, Alex grunted as she half-ran towards the van, hurriedly climbing in, the Terminator slithering in after her

“Kara,” she surged forward hugging her sister tight, feeling how warm, how _human_ she was, this wasn’t some liquid metal doppelganger, this was Kara. She pulled back and let Kara drive, amazed at how easily they slipped past the security at the front gate, then they turned onto the main highway and Cadmus was suddenly nothing more than a bad memory. She twisted around in her seat, examining the seemingly-empty back of the van, as part of the floor suddenly rose up, turning a brilliant sliver color before reforming into Astra Inze “so, what’s your story? Why help me?” Alex wondered

“Because I know what it feels like to be all alone and have no one listen to you,” Astra replied "T-1000's don't have a physical chip to control our bodies, we're too... _independent_ for Skynet's liking," she explained, she smiled at Alex “welcome back to reality, Alex”

**END**


	8. One of the "good" ones returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Follow up to Chapter One "One of "good" ones"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! I'm finally updating this fic! Enjoy! :=)

******

**Skynet Central Hub**   
**2029 A.D.**

Alex watched as the Terminator twitched in the sand, eyes gleaming before finally winking out. It was finally over, the war, Skynet, the Terminators, all gone, done, finished. They’d won; the human race had finally won the war against the machines

“It’s finally over” Lucy breathed next to her

“It is” Alex sighed, she tensed when her radio crackled to life

“ _Captain Danvers, this is Markhouse, we got something out here you might want to see_ ”

“Acknowledged,” she glanced at Lucy, who merely shrugged. Leaving the depths of the bunker (and monitor displaying Skynet’s last conscious thought: ‘System Error’), they emerged into the dimly-lit Colorado skies “report” Alex barked

“Down there” Sgt. Markhouse pointed. Alex leaned forward, looking down the winding, uphill path to see a lone Terminator standing there by the perimeter, its form glinting in the sunlight as it held its hands above its head

“What’s it doing?” Lucy asked

“Don’t know,” Markhouse shrugged “it just…walked up, hands on its head, and now its just…waiting”

“Just waiting,” Alex murmured as memories from more than a decade ago surfaced, the chances of it being the same Terminator were ludicrous, but still… “get me, Kara, now!” she ordered

“You don’t think…?” Lucy began “Alex! That was _twenty-four years ago! _” she exclaimed “that Terminator is probably a pile of scarp metal by now! If that!”__

__“Maybe, probably,” Alex nodded “but I owe it to Kara to find out”_ _

__“Alex! What is it?” Kara rushed over, she had chanced much from the twelve year old girl that a Terminator had dropped off at the gate of resistance base, she grown in both body and mind, matured, but she had never forgotten the Terminator who had saved her life, the machine which had a name all to itself, ‘Astra’_ _

__“Take a look,” Alex pointed, Kara looked down, seeing the Terminator standing there “do you think its…her?” Alex wondered_ _

__“I…I don’t know,” Kara admitted “but,” she bit her lip “shouldn’t we find out?” she wondered hesitantly_ _

__Alex nodded_ _

__****** _ _

__The Terminator was still standing there when they reached the bottom. Any outer sheath of living tissue it may have had had long since been destroyed, leaving the all-too familiar metal skeleton standing there, its hands held above its head. It tilted its head as the two women approached, studying them, its jaw lifting in a pantomime of a smile_ _

__“Hello, Kara” it said in a warm female voice_ _

__“Astra…” Kara breathed “you…you survived”_ _

__“I did, yes,” it looked down at itself “minus my good looks, I’m afraid,” it glanced at Alex “may I put my hands down now?” it asked_ _

__“Stand down,” Alex ordered the soldiers surrounding them “anybody who opens fire will get shot by me, clear?” slowly one-by-one, the soldiers lowered their guns. Alex turned to the Terminator “we can help you with your looks actually” she explained…_ _

__****** _ _

__The large metal mold slammed shut with a hiss, encasing ‘Astra’ inside as the sound of something bubbling could be heard. Suddenly the machine opened with another hiss and billow of steam or smoke, and Astra emerged, now covered in still-pink flesh and a few wisps of hair_ _

__“So, how do I look?” she asked_ _

__“You look…fine” Alex answered, as she held out a pair of spare clothes to it_ _

__“Thanks,” the Terminator took the clothes and slipped into them, idly running a hand across her scalp “hope my hair comes in soon, I feel rather funny without it” it muttered_ _

__“You protected Kara,” Alex blurted out “you saved her life”_ _

__“Yes,” the Terminator nodded “yes, I did”_ _

__“Why?”_ _

__“Because it was the right thing to do” Astra replied. She frowned at Alex “you’re staring at me, why?”_ _

__“Just…,” Alex shook her head “I can remember that day with crystal clarity,” she explained “especially you”_ _

__“What’s so special about me?” the machine asked as it approached, as if daring Alex to step back, she didn’t and the machine got closer_ _

__“You…I don’t know” Alex shook her head, frowning as Astra reached out and gently cupped her cheek “you just are” she mumbled as she let the machine pull her into a kiss, a kiss she eagerly returned…_ _

__**END** _ _

**Author's Note:**

> Anybody who wants to see more of this let me know :=)


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